Various arrangements have been proposed for supporting of a snow wing to one side of a construction machine, such as a motor grader or truck, with the most common arrangement having support towers attached to the motor grader. A number of cables connect the blade to the vehicle with the cables being adjustable in length for raising and lowering of the blade. Various cylinders or arms position the blade at one side of the vehicle. Other snow wing arrangements require the ground to provide support for the blade with hydraulic cylinders maintaining the blade at a certain position outwardly from the motor grader. Problems can occur with this type of structure when soft shoulders are encountered as the blade can dig into the soft shoulder and cause considerable damage. Operation of a motor grader equipped with a snow wing is relatively difficult and any snow wing system must be convenient to adjust. With the blade disposed to one side of the grader, large sudden forces exerted on the blade can cause the grader to be forced into the road and there is a requirement for the blade to be able to move quickly upwardly should an obstacle be encountered, such a rock frozen in a shoulder.
Examples of structures supporting snow wings are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,096,652, 4,045,892, 4,320,589, 2,643,470, 2,991,566, 2,144,698, 2,193,532, 3,125,818, 3,659,363 and Canadian Patents 1,131,907, 994,099, 1,164,652 and 1,212,540.